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attain - 6 dictionary results

at⋅tain

  [uh-teyn]
Use attain in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to reach, achieve, or accomplish; gain; obtain: to attain one's goals.
2. to come to or arrive at, esp. after some labor or tedium; reach: to attain the age of 96; to attain the mountain peak.
–verb (used without object)
3. to arrive at or succeed in reaching or obtaining something (usually fol. by to or unto): to attain to knowledge.
4. to reach in the course of development or growth: These trees attain to remarkable height.
Origin:
1300–50; ME atei(g)nen < AF, OF ateign- (s. of ateindre) < VL *attangere (for L attingere), equiv. to L at- at- + tangere to touch

Related forms:
at⋅tain⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. secure. See gain 1 .

Antonyms:
1, 2. miss.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To attain
at·tain   (ə-tān')   
v.   at·tained, at·tain·ing, at·tains

v.   tr.
  1. To gain as an objective; achieve: attain a diploma by hard work.
  2. To arrive at, as by virtue of persistence or the passage of time. See Synonyms at reach.
v.   intr.
To succeed in a directed effort, process, or progression: attained to high office; eventually attained to wisdom.

[Middle English atteignen, from Old French ataindre, ataign-, to reach to, from Vulgar Latin *attangere, from Latin attingere : ad-, ad- + tangere, to touch; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]
at·tain'a·bil'i·ty, at·tain'a·ble·ness n., at·tain'a·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Attain

At*tain"\ ([a^]t*t[=a]n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attained (-t[=a]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Attaining.] [Of. atteinen, atteignen, atainen, OF. ateindre, ataindre, F. atteindre, fr. L. attingere; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See Tangent, and cf. Attinge, Attaint.]

1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest.

Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means? --Abp. Tillotson.

2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] --Chaucer.

3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [Obs.]

Not well attaining his meaning. --Fuller.

4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. "Canaan he now attains." --Milton.

5. To overtake. [Obs.] --Bacon.

6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal.

Syn: To Attain, Obtain, Procure.

Usage: Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure, which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan, and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means.

Attain

At*tain"\, v. i. 1. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach.

If by any means they might attain to Phenice. --Acts xxvii. 12.

Nor nearer might the dogs attain. --Sir W. Scott.

To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber. --Cowper.

Few boroughs had as yet attained to power such as this. --J. R. Green.

2. To come or arrive, by an effort of mind.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain unto it. --Ps. cxxxix. 6.

Attain

At*tain"\, n. Attainment. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : attain
Spanish: conseguir, alcanzar, lograr,
German: erreichen,
Japanese: 成し遂げる
More Translations »

attain 
c.1300, "to succeed in reaching," from stem of O.Fr. ataindre, from L. attingere "to touch, to arrive at," from ad- "to" + tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Attainment "personal accomplishment" is from 1680.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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